Gold Coast SUNS CEO Travis Auld has called for an “education process” on academies in the northern states after Collingwood president Eddie McGuire blasted their creation this week.

The junior academy system allows clubs in Queensland and New South Wales to run development programs for footballers aged between 12 and 18, which provide a pathway to a potential career in the AFL.

McGuire slammed the program and suggested the programs give teams in the northern states an unfair advantage.

“I am red hot on this. This is going to impact every Victorian and South Australia and West Australian club,” McGuire said earlier this week.

“We have given New South Wales and Queensland four academies where they can go and get players and hide them away and train them from 12 years of age.

“We have to get back to giving the game back to the supporter base and back to Victorian football which has been drained right through the last period of time.”

Auld said he believed clubs and fans needed to be educated on why the academies were established in the frontier football states.

“The academies were set up as part of the AFL’s expansion strategy to drive participation and interest in the game,” Auld said. “Underpinning that was a growth of the talent pool.

“Queensland and New South Wales are under-represented in the draft pool. These academies identify and develop talent for the whole competition.

We get first access to that talent but if we draft the academy graduate, we leave another talented footballer in the draft for the other clubs, don’t we?”

Sydney Swans CEO Andrew Ireland added when he spoke to The Herald Sun: “Any player gained through the academy is involved in the bidding system so any club getting a player will give up a selection commensurate with his ability.”